National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Mississippi 81, St. Joseph's 68
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 20, 2016
Where: UVI Sports and Fitness Center, St. Thomas
Officials: # Justin Porterfield, # Joe Lindsay, # Duke Edsall
Attendance: N/A

Senior forward Sebastian Saiz scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Ole Miss past Saint Joseph's 81-68 Sunday in the Paradise Jam Tournament at Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas, Virginia Islands.

The Rebels (4-0) advance to face the No. 22 Creighton in Monday's championship game.

St. Joe's junior guard Shavar Newkirk led the Hawks with 21 points, and freshman forward Charlie Brown added 13 for points for the Hawks (3-1). They will face North Carolina State on Monday in the third-place game.

The Hawks trailed 41-37 at the break despite shooting 51.9 percent from the floor during a tight, back-and-forth first half.

Cullen Neal hit a 3-pointer to put the Rebels in front 39-33 with four minutes left in the first half, but Ole Miss didn't score again until Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey's tip-in at the buzzer.

Saiz had 16 points in the first half to lead Ole Miss.

The Rebels took command early in the second half and built a double-digit lead on a pair of free throws from Deandre Burnett with 10 minutes to play. Burnett finished with 20 points, and Rasheed Brooks and Neal each added 11 point for the Rebels.

Ole Miss used a 23-13 run to grab a 77-62 lead with three minutes to play and were not threatened down the stretch.

The high-scoring Rebels have scored 80 or more points in each game this season. They scored 95 in a win over Oral Roberts in the first round of the Paradise Jam.

The Hawks hurt themselves at the foul line, connecting on just 10 of 22 free throws. The Rebels also won the battle on the backboards, outrebounding St. Joe's 42-33.
Top Game Performances
 
St. Joseph's   Mississippi
Shavar Newkirk 21 Scoring Sebastian Saiz 26
Shavar Newkirk 6 Assists Deandre Burnett 4
Lamarr Kimble 7 Rebounds Sebastian Saiz 12
Shavar Newkirk 6 Free Throws Made Deandre Burnett 7
Shavar Newkirk 3 Steals Terence Davis 2
N/A Blocks Terence Davis 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
St. Joseph's 68 45.5 8-22 10-22 14 29 0 8 13
Mississippi 81 42.2 12-28 15-19 16 40 4 6 14